The Watchtower — October 15, 1969

Do You Rely on God or on Men?

“OF COURSE I believe in God. I am no atheist!” Perhaps that would be your reply if someone asked you whether you believed in God or not. However, how deep is your belief in God? To what extent does it influence your thinking and conduct? Does it cause you to rely fully on divine wisdom?—2 Sam. 22:31.

For a moment, think about what you do when you are faced with a problem. Where do you turn for counsel? Do you rely on the wise sayings of worldly philosophers to guide you? Do you seek advice from your friends? Or do you turn to God by opening your copy of his Word, the Bible, to see what godly principles can be applied in the matter? Persons who believe in God rely on him and diligently seek to know and apply his wisdom in their lives. Do you?—Ps. 118:8, 9.

Consider your family life. Does your family apply Bible principles in their speech and conduct? Are God’s promises the topic of many of its conversations and discussions? Families that rely on God talk to him in prayer regularly. Does your family do these things?—Col. 4:2.

What about your employment? Does the prevalence of dishonesty cause you to follow suit? If you are in business for yourself, how do you conduct it? Do you rely on God’s principles? What about the temptations to cheat one’s customers or the insurance company or to violate fire or health regulations to save money? One who truly believes in God, relying on His wisdom, seeks to please him by doing the honest thing.—Heb. 13:18.

Analyze your outlook on the future. Has the fact that men have walked on the moon impressed you more than the heart-cheering promises of God to make this earth a lovely paradise? Do you feel that the evolutionary thinking of scientists is more reliable than God’s Word, the Bible? Do you firmly believe God’s promise to remove all wickedness from the earth?

But some may wonder how they can be sure that what the Bible says is really from God. If one truly believes in God, he should care enough to investigate. Have you personally read the entire Bible? Right in its pages you will find ample evidence that it truly is God’s Word and that all the things it foretells will come to pass. This magazine that you are reading is an aid to help you learn the Bible’s message. It will encourage you to rely fully on the only One who can bring everlasting peace to this earth, Jehovah God. Prove this to yourself by reading the articles that follow.

The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years

“They . . . will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.”—Rev. 20:6.

1. Planetary peace on the moon or peace here on earth—which do the people prefer, and why?

WHEN the three astronauts in their man-made spacecraft orbited around the moon ten times at Christmastime of the year 1968, they observed that things were very peaceful at the moon just seventy miles away. When they returned safely to our earth, they reentered a world in which wars raged and where great fears were being expressed of the breaking out of a third world war, a nuclear war. Yet they were most happy to get back to our troubled earth. And why not? Who is it that wants to go to the moon in order to enjoy planetary peace? The thing that ordinary people want is world peace right here on earth, where we belong. This desire of their hearts is not misplaced, for right here on earth is where they will enjoy a peace of a thousand years, and this beginning right soon. What if you should live to see it begin? You would consider yourself to be most highly favored indeed.

2, 3. (a) Why have people lost confidence in the ability of world rulers to establish lasting world peace? (b) What about a population explosion, and how does it affect peace?

² World conditions today will no doubt prompt you to ask, “Who will usher in and maintain this peace of a thousand years?” After all the display that men of world affairs have made of themselves as peacemakers and peace-keepers, you have properly lost confidence in the ability of men to do such a colossal thing. To you the obstacles in the way of establishing a lasting world peace seem insurmountable for men. You are aware of the explosive increase in the earth’s human population, and you read the full-page advertisement in the newspaper, with the headline: “The Population Bomb Threatens the Peace of the World,” ads of this sort being repeatedly published by the “Campaign to Check the Population Explosion.” (New York Times, February 9, 1969) Also, under the shocking headline “Briton Foresees a Hell on Earth” you read the statement made at London, England, November 23, 1968, by Lord Ritchie-Calder, president of the Conservation Society, in which he said, in part:

³ “I am always appalled when I hear people complacently talking about the population explosion as though it belonged to the future, or world hunger as though it were threatening, when hundreds of millions can testify that it is already here—swear it with panting breath. . . . My concern is to conserve the human spirit not from the hell hereafter but from hell upon earth.”—New York Times, as of November 24, 1968.

4. What did Huxley point out was the world’s most pressing problem, and what question now takes away peace of mind?

⁴ This only serves to confirm what Julian Huxley, former director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said in the same city fourteen years earlier (September 7, 1954) to the conference of Parliamentarians for World Government, namely, that “the world’s most pressing problem was the growth of population, which is threatening to outstrip food supplies.” (New York Times, September 8, 1954) A thoughtful person, therefore, asks, What will the population and food situation be fourteen years from now? What we are reasonably led to expect does not give us any peace of mind.

5. Why does settling minor wars not change the overall picture, and what disturbing developments are there in the Far East?

⁵ The settling of minor wars, as in Vietnam and in the Middle East, cannot change the overall picture. The hostility of the two great political groups still remains. In discussing the “Nation’s Business,” the New York Times of December 6, 1968 (page 96, paragraphs 4, 5), said: “ . . . the cold war, though vastly changed, is far from over. Its perils are not diminishing. If anything they’re on the increase.” It expressed the fear that continued disintegration of the Soviet bloc of nations may tempt the Russians into new and desperate measures. This reminds us that the Soviet Union’s next-door neighbor, Communist China, is a big problem for her, yes, and for much of the rest of the world. Added to the awesomeness of her tremendous population is the disquieting fact that Communist China is now a nuclear power with the capacity of launching long-range missiles. By continued success in the missile field and by beginning to stockpile her weapons in the year 1972, and then keeping this up, the Communist Chinese “should be in a position to deploy 15 or 20 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles by about 1975.”—New York Times, February 3, 1969.

6, 7. On January 20, 1969, who offered himself for solving the problems of world peace, and with what words?

⁶ Truly the problems that need to be solved for world peace by human means are formidable, and yet there are men who offer themselves to tackle such problems. One such appears to be the thirty-seventh president of the United States of America. In his address following his inauguration on January 20, 1969, he said:

⁷ “I have taken an oath today in the presence of God and my countrymen, to uphold and to defend the Constitution of the United States. To that oath, I now add this sacred commitment: I shall consecrate my office, my energies and all the wisdom I can summon to the cause of peace. . . . The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker. This honor now beckons America—the chance to help lead the world at last out of the valley of turmoil and on to that high ground of peace that man has dreamed of since the dawn of civilization. If we succeed generations to come will say of us now living that we mastered our moment, that we helped make the world safe for mankind. . . . Our destiny offers not the cup of despair, but the chalice of opportunity. So let us seize it, not in fear, but in gladness—and ‘riders on the earth together,’ let us go forward, firm in our faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious of the dangers, but sustained by our confidence in the will of God and the promise of man.”—New York Times, January 21, 1969.

8. What beatitude of Christ may the newly sworn-in president have had in mind, but what Bible prophecy did he definitely have in mind?

⁸ Possibly the president had in mind the famous words of the Man of whom he claims to be a follower, as recorded by Jesus’ biographer Matthew Levi: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matt. 5:9, AV) But at least the president had in mind an ancient prophecy of the eighth century before our Common Era. How can we be sure of this? Because, when being sworn in with upraised right hand, he had his left hand resting upon two family Bibles, held one on top of the other by his wife and opened at the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter two, verse four, which reads: “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (AV) (New York Times, January 20, 1969, front page, last column) Having his left hand at that Bible verse was, not accidental, but of design. In that Bible verse was expressed “the will of God” of more than two millenniums ago, and now the president was adding “the promise of man.”

DEPENDENT UPON POLITICAL RULERS?

9. Is the realizing of that Bible prophecy dependent upon a condition, and what, then, about a warless world?

⁹ Certainly if the prophetic words of Isaiah, chapter two, verse four, bespeak the will of Almighty God, they will without fail come to reality and there will one day be universal peace. But does the ultimate realization of those prophetic words require a condition? Is their realization conditional upon the “promise of man”? Does their realization depend upon the “promise” of the political rulers of the nations and people? If it were, well, then, would a warless world ever come to earth?

10, 11. (a) To bring in the world state as willed by God, how do men of the world think of bringing it in? (b) How does God compare their way and his way?

¹⁰ Prominent, influential men of the world may see the final state of the world that God has willed. Moved with religious emotion, they may in all sincerity promise to use their political office, their energies and all the wisdom that they can summon to work for realizing that world state as willed by God. But what if such men, when making their promise, have in mind working for it in their own way according to the wisdom of this world, and not in God’s way according to his wisdom as set forth in his written Word, the Holy Bible? Have we reason to believe that God will prosper their efforts to fulfill their “promise” in their own self-determined way? Or, may it be true that such men of “promise” will really be working against the “will of God”? Has man’s way up till now for bringing in a lasting universal peace been God’s way? The apparent lack of God’s blessing upon man’s way of doing it till now would answer No! But through the same prophet Isaiah God himself answers this vital question, saying:

¹¹ “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For . . . so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—Isa. 55:8-11, AV.

12, 13. (a) After World War I what was man’s way for preventing another world war? (b) How did the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America endorse that way as being God’s will?

¹² God’s spoken and written word will never fail. But what about the word of “promise” made by men in political power? At the close of World War I in 1918 such men were bent on preventing the occurrence of another world conflict. What was the way that the political men who had to do with the peace treaty decided upon to prevent it? By embodying in the peace treaty the so-called Covenant of the League of Nations. When the peace treaty went into force, so did the League of Nations. Through that League of Nations the men supporting it promised much. Seemingly the League of Nations was according to the will of God, because the religious clergy of Christendom backed up the League. The Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America said as if it were a spokesman for God:

¹³ “Such a League is not a mere political expedient; it is rather the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth. . . . The Church can give a spirit of goodwill, without which no League of Nations can endure. . . . The League of Nations is rooted in the Gospel. Like the Gospel, its objective is ‘peace on earth, good-will toward men.’”—Federal Council Bulletin, Vol. II, No. 1, as of January 1919, pages 12-14.

14. (a) What proved the churches to be wrong as regards the League of Nations? (b) What attitude do religionists now take toward the United Nations, and is this any guarantee for its endurance?

¹⁴ Evidently those churches of Christendom were wrong about this, for that League of Nations did not endure. The very thing that it was designed by man’s wisdom to prevent was the thing that put it out of action, namely, World War II. The League turned over its effects to the United Nations, the world peace organization that came into existence on October 24, 1945. Once again this international organization for world peace and security would seem to be according to the “will of God,” inasmuch as the clergy of Christendom piously support it. Even the popes of Vatican City have come out in support of it, Pope Paul VI personally addressing it on one occasion at its New York headquarters. Today one hundred and twenty-six nations are members of it, including the nation that recently inaugurated its thirty-seventh president. The new president has indicated how he will fulfill the “promise of man,” and that is by working with the United Nations, together with other but smaller international alliances. But the blessing of the clergy of Christendom gives no more guarantee that this United Nations will endure than it did for the League of Nations.

15. Are there grounds for history to bestow the title of Peacemaker upon the League of Nations and the United Nations, and is the Bible prophecy carved on the plaza wall being fulfilled by the U.N.?

¹⁵ History cannot bestow upon the League of Nations the honor of bearing the title of Peacemaker. There is no basis for history to honor the United Nations with the title of Peacemaker. While the United Nations mouths great words of peace and carries on negotiations to restore or keep the peace in different areas of the earth, its member nations are preparing for war. The strongest members of its Security Council are the most mightily armed nations in all human history. World peace today, such as it is, is a peace of terror, a peace maintained only because of the terrorizing fear of nuclear, bacteriological and radiological war that spells the doom of modern civilization. Where, then, is the fulfillment of the words that are carved prominently on a wall at 42nd Street facing the plaza of the United Nations amidst New York city? What words? These: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

NOT CONDITIONED ON “PROMISE OF MAN”

16. What preliminary requirement foretold in Isaiah 2:4 are the nations that assume to be peacemakers not fulfiling?

¹⁶ Regardless of what human history as written by uninspired men may do as to honoring men and nations with titles, God himself does not purpose to bestow the “greatest honor” of the title of Peacemaker upon any politician of this last half of the twentieth century. This honor at His hand is not now beckoning to any member of the United Nations or to any nation outside it. Not a single one of the nations and peoples of the world is accepting from God’s mouth what the prophecy of Isaiah 2:4 says would precede the beating of swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks and the learning of war no more by the nations. Those opening words of this prophetic verse read: “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people.”

17, 18. (a) What corresponding prophecy repeats that requirement? (b) How do the nations act toward that requirement, and what title will divine history not bestow upon them?

¹⁷ A prophecy of that same ancient time that corresponds with that of Isaiah 2:4, the prophecy in Micah 4:3, reads: “And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—AV.

¹⁸ The nations are not letting themselves be judged by the Lord God. They submit their problems to the General Assembly or the Security Council of the United Nations or to its International Court of Justice at The Hague in the Netherlands. They do not go by the judgments that are set down in God’s written Word, the Holy Bible. The nations, even the “strong nations” that are “afar off” from where the prophets Isaiah and Micah lived, do not take any rebuke from the Lord God as set out in his written Word or as quoted by his mouthpieces from that written Word. If they did accept and heed his judgment and his rebuke, they would beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and not lift up the sword of war against one another or even learn war anymore. But everybody knows that they are not doing so. Hence, regardless of the “promise of man,” no lasting world peace can be hoped for from the nations, either in a united organization or singly. No political ruler or nation will yet step forward and be the one that divine history will greatly honor with the title of Peacemaker.

19. Is Isaiah 2:4 dependent upon the “promise of man”, and from what fact can persons yearning for peace take comfort?

¹⁹ Nothing in the way of a disarmed, peace-learning world can be expected from the “promise of man” that pursues the way and wisdom of man, not God’s way and wisdom, which are heaven-high above man’s. The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, is not dependent upon the “promise of man.” His prediction of the future is not conditioned upon it. His word at Isaiah 2:4 is an unconditional prophecy. Even though the people and strong nations of today are planning and acting against it, that glorious prophecy will come true. God will see to that, for what man, what people, what strong nation can succeed against Him? From this sure fact let all persons who yearn for everlasting universal peace as foretold in God’s Word take comfort.

20, 21. (a) Why has God not changed with regard to his stated purpose? (b) With what words of Isaiah 9:6, 7 did Jehovah foretell his Peacemaker?

²⁰ God does not change with regard to his stated purpose. For almost two millenniums now he has had the one whom he has anointed or consecrated to serve as Peacemaker for all mankind. By the prophet Isaiah God foretold the disarming of earth’s inhabitants and the learning of war no more. By the same prophet God foretold this Peacemaker. We have already considered Isaiah, chapter two, verse four. Turn now to Isa chapter nine, verses six and seven, and read of the birth and work of this Peacemaker:

²¹ “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”—AV.

22. How does this prophecy indicate the one to whom we must look for a peaceful reign of a thousand years?

²² Hear again those prophetic words: “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” In those words is given God’s unbreakable promise of an unending government of endless peace. It is the government of a child born into the family line of King David, the son whose name was to be called “The Prince of Peace.” His life will have to be as long as his peaceful government—endless, immortal. The fact that his name was also to be called “The everlasting Father” bears this out. This would result in his being the Permanent Heir of King David, inasmuch as the divine prophecy says that this peaceful endless government would be “upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.” It is to the reign of this Permanent Heir of King David as The Prince of Peace that we must look for the approaching peace of a thousand years. He is the one whom the Lord God honors with the title of Peacemaker, and not some politician or some nation of this twentieth century.

23. Why should we not lose faith in the coming true of Isaiah’s prophecy even though it was given so long ago?

²³ It is true that more than two and a half millenniums have passed since that prophecy was uttered and written down by God’s prophet Isaiah, and here we are in a time when nations are trying to stave off the world war that would be the greatest and worst of all human history. But we must not lose faith in the coming true of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Peacemaker and of eternal peace on earth. The zeal of the Lord of hosts is behind this prophecy, which He himself inspired by his holy spirit. The prophecy closes by saying: “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” His zeal has not cooled off by now regarding the prophecy, for his own name and reputation are at stake in connection with it. He has never lied in anything else; he will not prove to be a liar as regards this prophecy either. He is the “God, that cannot lie.”—Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18, AV.

SOMEONE GREATER THAN KING SOLOMON

24. What does history show as to whether any of the kings of Jerusalem from Isaiah’s time on proved to be the promised Prince of Peace?

²⁴ God’s mouthpiece, the prophet Isaiah, continued to prophesy on into the reign of King Hezekiah of Jerusalem, but Hezekiah did not prove to be the promised “child” or “son” who was to be honored with the title of Peacemaker, The Prince of Peace. Neither did the seven kings who followed Hezekiah upon the “throne of David” at Jerusalem, down to the last king, Zedekiah, prove to be the promised Prince of Peace. In fact, in the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah the holy city of Jerusalem and its temple as built by the earlier King Solomon were destroyed by the armies of pagan Babylon, and the conquered people were deported as exiles to far-off Babylon. Only seventy years later did the city of Jerusalem and a temple for God’s worship begin to be built by released exiles.

25. When and where did Isaiah’s prophecy begin to be fulfilled by the birth of the “child,” the “son”, David’s Permanent Heir?

²⁵ Well, then, was the “zeal of the LORD of hosts” frustrated and cooled down? Not at all! Despite this apparent failure of Isaiah’s prophecy, God’s zeal was as hot as ever for the performing of the prophecy. The “throne of David” was never again set up at Jerusalem, but that did not matter. The line of the royal family of King David was not blotted out but continued on. Then five hundred and thirty-five years after Jerusalem began to be rebuilt Isaiah’s prophecy began to be fulfilled by the birth of the promised “child,” the “son” who was to be the Permanent Heir of King David. This occurred in the second year before the start of our Common Era; in other words, in the year 2 B.C.E. It occurred at the birthplace of King David, namely, Bethlehem-Judah, in fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy (Mic 5:2).

26, 27. According to Luke, whom did God make witnesses on the night of the child’s birth?

²⁶ In order to prove that his ancient prophecy had come true, the zealous Lord of hosts would certainly have witnesses to the birth of the promised Prince of Peace. First of all he made angels witnesses to the child’s birth. Then he made shepherds of Bethlehem witnesses of the event. By night in the early autumn of the year 2 B.C.E. the angel of the Lord God appeared to those shepherds watching over their sheep in the field near Bethlehem. An investigator of the facts of the birth, a medical doctor by the name of Luke, though not himself delivering the child, reports: “An angel of the Lord flashed upon them, the glory of the Lord shone all round them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, ‘Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People. To-day you have a saviour born in the town of David, the Lord messiah. And here is a proof for you: you will find a baby wrapped up and lying in a stall for cattle.’ Then a host of heaven’s army suddenly appeared beside the angel, extolling God and saying, ‘Glory to God in high heaven, and peace on earth for men whom he favours!’”—Luke 2:8-14, Mo.

²⁷ Doctor Luke tells us that the shepherds went and found the newborn baby, and thus they became eyewitnesses of the birth of “the Lord messiah,” along with the heavenly angels. Doctor Luke closes, saying: “Then the shepherds went away back, glorifying and extolling God for all that they had heard and seen—as they had been told they would.”—Luke 2:15-20, Mo.

28. Forty days later, who became witnesses to the child’s birth?

²⁸ Forty days later the God-fearing man Simeon and then the prophetess Anna saw and identified the child when he was brought to the temple at Jerusalem. In this way they also became witnesses to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Prince of Peace.—Luke 2:22-38.

29. By what name and titles was this one called, and what does his name mean?

²⁹ The angel spoke of the child as “the Lord messiah.” Greek-speaking Jews of that day would say “the Lord Christ,” for “messiah” and “Christ” mean the same thing, “anointed one.” That is to say, God’s anointed one. According to God’s instruction to his virgin mother he was given the personal name Jeshua; but the Greek-speaking Jews like Doctor Luke called him Jesus. So with his title he was called Jeshua Messiah or Jesus Christ. (Luke 1:26-33; Matt. 1:1, 20-25) Because he was a descendant of King David he was also called “the Son of David.” Why was he given the personal name Jesus? The Dictionary of the Bible, by Dr. William Smith (page 1346), edition of 1894, says that the name Jeshua or Jesus means “Help of Jehovah,” or “Saviour.” This corresponds with what God’s angel told his foster father, carpenter Joseph at Nazareth: “You must call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”—Matt. 1:18-25.

30. (a) Why was King Solomon not the one to usher in the reign of a millennium of peace? Of whom was he, when faithful, a type?

³⁰ Among the royal forefathers was the wisest man of ancient times, King Solomon the son of David. His name means “Peaceful,” or “Peace.” Quite appropriately, he reigned at Jerusalem, the name of which means “Possession of Twofold Peace.” Despite this combination of names Solomon’s reign did not usher in a millennium of peace. At most it brought in a peace of forty years. Despite his wise start as king of Jerusalem, he turned out bad in his old age. He became oppressive to the people of Israel. He yielded to the pressure of his many foreign wives and joined them in worshiping other gods than Jehovah God. He thus lost his peace with the one living and true God, who expressed his indignation by ripping ten of the twelve tribes of Israel away from the kingdom of Solomon’s successors. (1 Ki. 11:7–12:24; Neh. 13:26, 27) But during the more than half of his forty-year reign that Solomon was faithful to Jehovah as God and wrote three books of the Holy Bible, Solomon was used as a prophetic figure of the true Messiah or Christ.

31. (a) Why could Jesus speak of himself as “something more than Solomon”? (b) Why did he not get David’s throne on earth?

³¹ Unlike Solomon, Jesus Christ as a perfect man on earth never proved unfaithful to God. He worthily bore the name Jeshua or Jesus, which means “Help of Jehovah,” or “Salvation of Jehovah.” Solomon his ancestor had been anointed with holy oil to be king over all Israel, but Jesus was anointed with holy spirit from heaven at the time of his water baptism in the Jordan River, God’s voice being heard by John the Baptist, saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:13-17, AV) Jesus thereby became God’s Anointed One or Christ in a sense superior to Solomon. Without egotism or exaggeration Jesus could speak of himself as being “something more than Solomon.” (Matt. 12:42) By his faithfulness he maintained his right to the “throne of David” or the kingly rulership over all Israel that such throne symbolized. But God never gave the anointed Jesus that “throne of David” on earth. (Luke 1:32, 33) First, God tested Jesus’ faithfulness to the limit, letting him die as a perfect human sacrifice on an execution stake, that thus Jesus might “save his people from their sins.”—Matt. 1:21.

32. (a) What indicates whether Jesus kept his peace with God down to the night of his betrayal? (b) Why did Jesus not accept kingship from Devil or man?

³² The anointed Jesus kept his peace with Jehovah God clear to the end of his earthly life. Shortly before he was betrayed and turned over to the executioners he said to the eleven faithful ones of his twelve apostles: “I leave you peace, I give you my peace. I do not give it to you the way that the world gives it.” (John 14:27) Hours afterward, when standing before the trial judge, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, the peaceful Jesus said to him: “My kingdom is no part of this world. . . . my kingdom is not from this source.” It was not at Jesus’ request that Pontius Pilate put over the head of Jesus on the execution stake the notice reading: “Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.” (John 18:36; 19:16-22) Jesus refused to accept kingship at the hand of Devil or man. He died on the execution stake, waiting on his God Jehovah to give him the “throne of David his father” to which he was the Permanent Heir. (Matt. 4:8-11; Luke 1:32, 33; John 6:14, 15) He died true and loyal to what he had preached, namely, “The kingdom of God has drawn near.”—Mark 1:14, 15; Matt. 4:12-17.

33. Why, unlike Solomon, does Jesus Christ now live, and how can he usher in the peace of a thousand years?

³³ Today after almost three millenniums, unfaithful Solomon still sleeps in death with his forefathers. (1 Ki. 11:41-43, AV) Today, after more than nineteen hundred years from his sacrificial death on the execution stake outside the walls of Jerusalem, Jesus Christ lives! On the third day of his death the Almighty God Jehovah raised him from the dead to life as his spiritual Son in heaven, clothing him with immortality and incorruption. As Jesus Christ manifested himself to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead, during forty days before his ascension to heaven, there came to be upward of five hundred eyewitnesses to the resurrected Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:1-5; 2:22-36; 1 Cor. 15:3-9) He now being alive forevermore, he can indeed become “The everlasting Father” to the dying world of mankind. Also, of his peaceful government over mankind there does not need to be any end and there “shall be no end.” (Isa. 9:6, 7, AV) He is the heavenly Ruler able to usher in upon war-torn mankind the peace of a thousand years. The United Nations cannot do so!

THE MILLENNIAL PEACE APPROACHING

34. (a) Why does this seem to be the most appropriate epoch for him to begin his peaceful government? (b) Who especially must first be removed, and why?

³⁴ When, though, does the Prince of Peace start his government of an endless peace? Righteously disposed people today are crying out for such a government. Does not the very world situation mark this as the epoch in which it would be most fitting for Jehovah God to bring in such a government according to his unbreakable promise of Isaiah 9:6, 7? Apparently so. But first the obstructors of peace must be cleared out of the way. The greatest obstructor is one over whom neither the United Nations nor any single nation or people have any control, for he is superhuman. He is the one who offered Jesus Christ all the kingdoms of this world if he would turn away from worshiping Jehovah as God, worshiping the great Tempter instead. This greatest peace obstructor is named Satan the Devil. He is the prince of legions of devils or demons. (Matt. 4:8-11; 12:24-28, AV) Jesus Christ called him also “the ruler of this world,” whereas the Christian apostle Paul called him “the god of this system of things.” The apostle John says: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.”—John 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19.

35. (a) According to what prophetic title can Christ put Satan out of power? (b) Who on earth show themselves peace obstructors, and when and how must Christ put them out of the way?

³⁵ It will take more than all men together to put that greatest obstructor of peace out of power over mankind. This the heavenly Jesus Christ will do, for, according to the several names by which he was to be called, he is “The mighty God.” This he will do after first doing away with the visible peace obstructors here on earth. (Rev. 19:11 to 20:3) This requires him to be first a Warrior King, reigning in the midst of his earthly enemies, finally subduing them completely, just as foretold by King David in Psalm 110:1-6. He has had to do this because, since the end of the “times of the Gentiles” in the year 1914, the nations and empires of this world have refused to yield over peaceably their earthly kingship to him, even Christendom refusing to do so. (Luke 21:24; Ps. 2:1-6) Till this year, after more than half a century, the nations have refused to do so. What will this mean shortly for all mankind? This: the outbreak of the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at the world situation called Har–Magedon or Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14, 16) That war will remove all human obstructors to peace.

36. After removal of these peace obstructors, what time period begins, and how did the American president in his inaugural speech remind us of it?

³⁶ After this taking away of all human and demon obstructors of world peace there will come the reign of the Prince of Peace over all the earth. God’s fixed time for this is approaching, and along with it the peace of a thousand years. A thousand years equals a millennium. This reminds us of something said in the aforementioned inaugural speech of the American president on January 20, 1969. He remarked upon the approach of things of interest to Americans and to all Christendom. In the eighth paragraph of his speech the newly sworn-in president said: “Eight years from now America will celebrate its 200th anniversary as a nation. And within the lifetime of most people now living, mankind will celebrate that great new year which comes only once in a thousand years—the beginning of the third millennium.” The president was referring to A.D. 2001.a

37. In what millennium are God-fearing Bible students more interested, and from when does that millennium count?

³⁷ The next remarks of the president showed that he expected there to be an America in the first year of that third millennium. But for God-fearing students of the Holy Bible containing both the ancient Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures, there is a more important millennium that compels their attention. That is the seventh millennium! No, not the seventh millennium measured from A.D. 1, but the seventh millennium of man’s existence here on earth, the seventh millennium measured from God’s creation of perfect man and woman in the garden of Eden. This is usually measured according to the Anno Mundi rule or “In the Year of the World” calendar, the world of mankind being here meant.

38. (a) What does the Orthodox Jewish calendar reckon the time of the inauguration of the American president to be? (b) When, according to Ussher’s chronology, do six millenniums of man’s existence end?

³⁸ Does this fact have any bearing on the approach of the peace of a thousand years or of a millennium? Very apparently Yes! According to the calendar of the Orthodox Jews, the new American president delivered his inaugural speech at the beginning of the fifth lunar month of the year 5729 A.M., this date being based on the ancient Hebrew Scriptures alone. But according to chronologers or time checkers who take into account also the inspired Christian Greek Scriptures, the Jewish calendar is more than two hundred years behind time. In certain editions of the Holy Bible, Catholic and Protestant, there have appeared dates according to the chronology of the noted Irish Anglican prelate, Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656 C.E.). Ussher’s date for man’s creation is 4004 B.C.E. By this reckoning six thousand years or six millenniums of man’s existence would end in the autumn of the coming year of 1996 C.E. after which the seventh millennium of man’s existence would start.

39. According to more recent research into Bible chronology, when would the six millenniums end?

³⁹ More recently earnest researchers of the Holy Bible have made a recheck of its chronology. According to their calculations the six millenniums of mankind’s life on earth would end in the mid-seventies. Thus the seventh millennium from man’s creation by Jehovah God would begin within less than ten years.b

40. In commemoration of his resting on the seventh creative day, what law concerning sabbath did God give to his chosen people?

⁴⁰ Apart from the global change that present-day world conditions indicate is fast getting near, the arrival of the seventh millennium of man’s existence on earth suggests a gladsome change for war-stricken humankind. According to the first two chapters Ge 1-2 of the Holy Bible man and woman were created toward the close of the sixth creative day. We are now living in the seventh creative day, and on this seventh day Jehovah God has been resting from earthly creation. To run parallel with this resting of God on his seventh creative day, he gave the Ten Commandments to his prophet Moses, in the fourth one of which God commanded that his chosen people should rest on the seventh day of the week. (Ex. 20:8-11) That day was therefore the weekly sabbath day, the day of desistance from human toil.

41. (a) On a certain sabbath day, to what greater Sabbath did Jesus point forward? (b) According to God’s way of measuring time, to what does Christ’s millennium of rule correspond?

⁴¹ The Lord Jesus Christ, the prospective Prince of Peace, pointed forward to a greater Sabbath Day. Pointing forward to this, he said on a certain weekly sabbath day when he came under criticism: “Lord of the sabbath is what the Son of man is.” (Matt. 12:1-8) He was referring to his peaceful reign of a thousand years. Jehovah God measures human affairs according to a thousand-year-length rule. He inspired the prophet Moses to write, in Psalm 90:4: “A thousand years are in your eyes but as yesterday when it is past.” He also inspired the Christian apostle Peter to write: “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Pet. 3:8, AV) In prophetic vision the apostle John saw Satan the Devil and his demons bound and abyssed for a thousand years, during which thousand years Jesus Christ reigned with his victorious disciples over all mankind. (Rev. 5:9, 10; 20:1-7) So, according to God’s viewpoint of time, that thousand years of his Son Jesus Christ would correspond with merely “one day.”

42. (a) In order for Jesus to be ‘Lord of the Sabbath’, his millenial reign would have to be in what time period? (b) Why would the end of six thousand years of man’s enslavement by Satan be a fitting time for a sabbath rest?

⁴² In order for the Lord Jesus Christ to be “Lord even of the sabbath day,” his thousand-year reign would have to be the seventh in a series of thousand-year periods or millenniums. (Matt. 12:8, AV) Thus it would be a sabbatic reign. Since early in the existence of mankind Satan the Devil has been on the loose, making the human family to toil in hard bondage, causing the earth to be filled with violence before the global flood of Noah’s day and inducing the same old earth to be filled with even greater violence today. Soon now six millenniums of his wicked exploiting of mankind as his slaves will end, within the lifetime of the generation that has witnessed world events since the close of the Gentile Times in 1914 till now, according to the prophetic words of Jesus in Matthew 24:34. Would not, then, the end of six millenniums of mankind’s laborious enslavement under Satan the Devil be the fitting time for Jehovah God to usher in a Sabbath millennium for all his human creatures? Yes, indeed! And his King Jesus Christ will be Lord of that Sabbath.

43. (a) What kind of day was the ancient weekly sabbath day as to activity? (b) During his sabbatic reign, will Christ or his subjects on earth be idle?

⁴³ In ancient times, when God’s chosen people were under the Ten Commandments given through his prophet Moses, the weekly sabbath was a peaceful day. To agree with God’s own desistance from earthly work on his seventh creative day, his people were under divine command to desist from the hard work of the preceding six days, likewise their domestic animals. (Ex. 20:1-11) In like manner Christ’s sabbatic reign for a thousand years will be a peaceful time for this earth and its inhabitants. It will be a time of rest from all the warfare and violence of the previous six millenniums. Swords, symbolic of murderous warfare, will have been beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks for the grapevines. Life will not be dull in that restful millennial sabbath. It will not be a time of idleness. The Sabbath Lord, Jesus Christ the King, will not be idle, neither will he let his earthly subjects be idle.

44. (a) Why did Jesus on earth perform so many of his miraculous works on the weekly sabbath? (b) How does this agree with Paul’s statement in Hebrews 10:1?

⁴⁴ Why was it that Jesus Christ, when on earth as a Jew under the Ten Commandments, did so many of his miraculous works on the weekly sabbath day, healing the sick and the crippled? Not only to show that it was right to do good on the sabbath. It was also to foreshadow how, during his sabbatic reign, he will deliver humankind from bondage to Satan the Devil and his demons and relieve them of the deadly effects of the sin and imperfection inherited from our first human parents, Adam and Eve. War and violence during the past six millenniums have brought millions of humans to untimely death and the grave; but the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ, will bring up the thousands of millions of dead humankind from the graves, exactly as he prophesied that he would do. (John 5:28, 29) It was no mere idle phrase when his truthful apostle Paul wrote that God’s sabbath law had a “shadow of the good things to come.”—Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:16, 17.

PLOWSHARES, PRUNING HOOKS FOR PARADISE

45. (a) How have Jehovah’s witnesses already conformed to Isaiah 2:4? (b) How will this feature of the prophecy continue to apply after Armageddon and Satan’s abyssing?

⁴⁵ Already, even during this war-endangered time, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses have conformed to the prophecy of Isaiah 2:4 and beaten swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. After the universal war of Har–Magedon and the binding and abyssing of Satan and his demons, this prophecy will continue to apply. Why? In order that the human survivors of the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” may use their plowshares and pruning hooks in transforming this war-scarred earth into the glorious Paradise that Jehovah God told man originally to make it. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:8-14) God’s word will not return to him void, unfulfilled. No, but under the thousand-year reign of his Son Jesus Christ this entire earth will be cultivated into an everlasting Paradise filled with liberated, perfected human creatures. Within that seventh sabbatic millennium the King and Lord of the sabbath day will undo all the work of that greatest of all peace disturbers, Satan the Devil.—Luke 23:43.

46. What did treatment of violators of the ancient sabbath law foreshadow with respect to attempted disturbers during and at the end of the sabbath millennium?

⁴⁶ As under the operation of the Ten Commandments among God’s ancient chosen people all violators of the sabbath day were killed, so those not rendering obedience to the Lord of the coming sabbath millennium and disturbing the peace will be destroyed. (Num. 15:32-36; Ex. 31:13-17) After Satan the Devil and his demons are let loose from the abyss and once again try to disturb the peace of our earth, they will be destroyed, and with them all those who try again to make this earth a battlefield, a war arena. (Rev. 20:7-10, 15) Those who keep peace with God will remain in the Paradise earth as its eternal caretakers.

47. According to Psalm 72:7 with reference to the Greater Solomon, how long will the earthly peace last?

⁴⁷ Then it will not be necessary to take a rocket to the moon to find a peaceful planet, for then the prayer in behalf of the Greater Solomon, Jesus Christ the King, will be fulfilled, as recorded in Psalm 72:7: “In his days the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more.” That peace will never end, any more than the moon. The earthly peace thus established and maintained during the Messiah’s sabbath of a thousand years will continue on forever.

48. Who are now getting ready for that peaceful millennium, and who are invited to join them in doing so?

⁴⁸ Jehovah’s Christian witnesses of today are joyfully preparing for that approaching peace of a thousand years. All who yearn to enjoy that foretold “peace on earth for men whom [God] favours” are heartily invited to join them in getting ready for that blessed millennium of peace.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 615]

The timely and heartwarming message contained in this article was presented as a public discourse to audiences with a combined attendance of 840,572 in principal cities of North America and Europe during July and August of this year.

[Full-page picture on page 613]

Really, Who Is God?

TO MANY children God is a very real, rather imposing figure, but not at all frightening. When children, under the age of ten, were asked to write to God, their letters revealed a directness, a charm and reverence. For example, one child wrote:

“Dear God, When you started the earth and put people there and all the animals and grass and the stars did you get very tired? I have a lot of other questions too.” To this child, it is obvious that God is real. The child does not know much about God, but he is willing to learn, for he has “a lot of other questions.”

Another child expressed a similar attitude, writing: “Dear God, What is it like when you die? Nobody will tell me. I just want to know, I don’t want to do it.”

Children generally have a sketchy, but warm concept of God. But, when grown up, persons frequently lose that confidence and trust in God. The education they later receive often undermines their faith.

A CHILDISH BELIEF?

Does this mean that it is childish to believe that God is a real person who is concerned with earth’s affairs? Is such a God merely the figment of youthful imagination? Is he only fictional, much like Santa Claus?

Well, consider: Marvelous design and orderliness are everywhere evident in the universe. “It is enough for me,” observed the late scientist Albert Einstein, “to reflect upon the marvelous structure of the universe, which we can dimly perceive, and to try humbly to comprehend even an infinitesimal part of the intelligence manifest in nature.” Of what is this superb orderliness and tremendous intelligence evidence?

From our own experience we know that intelligence is associated with the mind. And we know that the mind is associated with a brain in the body of an individual. Thus, this great mind responsible for the design and orderliness of the universe must be that of the Supreme Being, the great Person who is God, with a definite body and individuality and powers.

VAGUE CONCEPTS

Even though most people say they believe in God, who do they believe He is? Do they consider him to be a real person? Do they seek to learn more about him, and to serve him? Who do you believe God is?

Some religious leaders say that God is “the Ground of Being,” “the Force of Life,” “Ultimate Reality,” and so forth. But what does this mean? Really, such descriptions of God are misleading, hiding the truth as to who He actually is. They have only confused people, and have undoubtedly contributed to the vague concept of God that so many persons have.

At the same time, most persons have done little to learn about God. They have not gone to his Word the Bible to see what he says about himself. As a result, they are not inclined to speak to God in prayer. This, no doubt, is due partly to uncertainty as to how to address God; for example, what name to use in speaking to Him.

They also have the problem of knowing what to speak to God about. Somehow such persons fail to see the marvelous provisions that God has made for mankind.

Actually many persons go through life giving less thought to God and what he has done than to their job or other matters of life. Only when they experience serious trouble do they think about Him. For example, should they become seriously sick, beyond the help of doctors, then they may turn to God with fervent pleas for help. The attitude seemingly is, when all else fails, it is time for prayer. But does such an attitude manifest genuine appreciation for God?

The fact is, most persons apparently view God as a very distant, uninterested individual, rather than as a close, loving Father who is intimately concerned with his children. True, the majority undoubtedly will say that they believe that God created the universe and is responsible for the complex and intelligent life on earth. However, at the same time, they apparently feel that humankind is now on its own, that God has divorced himself from problems on earth, and that he will not take any action to correct matters.

Is this true? Is God more like an uninterested bystander than a loving, helpful Father? What are the facts about God? Just who is he? Properly, what conception should we form of him? What responsibilities do we have toward him?

A PERSONAL GOD

God is not some abstract force or power, but he is a real person. This does not mean that he has a body of flesh and blood as humans have. Rather, he is an invisible Personage. “God is a Spirit,” the Holy Scriptures explain. (John 4:24) And as the Bible also says, God made “his angels spirits,” like himself.—Ps. 104:4.

Just as angels have names, one of them being identified in the Bible by the name “Gabriel,” so God is identified by a name that distinguishes him from all other persons. (Luke 1:26) Is that name Jesus? Many religious persons have been led to think so. However, the Bible clearly shows that Jesus is the name of God’s Son. (Luke 1:31, 32) Jesus thus is not God, he is only the Son of God. At all times Jesus directed his followers to worship and serve his God and Father in heaven.

In fact, during his earthly ministry Jesus Christ taught his followers to pray in connection with God’s name: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed [or sanctified] be thy name.” (Matt. 6:9, AV) And later during his earthly ministry Jesus said in prayer regarding God’s name: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world.”—John 17:6.

Surely, therefore, it is of utmost importance that we know the name of God and use it. Jesus used it, and all faithful servants of God have done so. In fact, God’s personal name appears in the Bible some 7,000 times! It is found, for example, in the King James Version Bible at Psalm 83:18, which reads: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”

Yes, Jehovah is God’s own self-chosen name. “I am Jehovah,” God declares. “That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory.” (Isa. 42:8) In the original Hebrew language of the Bible God’s name appears in Tetragrammaton form (יהוה); the Tetragrammaton being defined as: “The Hebrew word written JHVH (or JHWH, YHVH, YHWH), representing, without vowels, the ‘ineffable name’ of God, . . . commonly transliterated in English as ‘Jehovah.’”—The American College Dictionary, page 1252.

In imitation of God’s faithful servants in the past, true Christians today use God’s name. Does the religion with which you associate do so? If it does not, then it could not be the true religion, for God said: “My people will know my name.” Not only would they know what the name is, but they would know it as a name glorified by reason of God’s own acts. Also the Bible says: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” (Isa. 52:6; Rom. 10:13; Joel 2:32) How vital, therefore, that you associate with those who exalt God’s name and treat it with respect!

A LOVING PROVIDER

As one comes to know who God really is, there are O so many things to speak to Him about. Just look around and observe his marvelous creations. “He is the Maker of the earth,” the Bible tells us, “the One firmly establishing the productive land . . . He has made even sluices for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” (Jer. 10:10-13) The appreciative person is moved to exclaim, as did the Bible psalmist: “How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made. The earth is full of your productions.”—Ps. 104:24.

True, humans may labor hard to feed and clothe their families, perhaps working long hours to plant seed, and toiling beneath a hot sun to harvest the fruitage. Yet, who makes that seed develop into nutritious food that can give strength to their bodies and cause their children to grow? How is it that seed, plus a little water and soil, can produce such miraculous results? Is any human responsible? No, but it is God’s doing! It is “God who makes it grow.”—1 Cor. 3:7.

What the Bible says is true; God gives “rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts to the full with food and good cheer.” (Acts 14:15-17) Thus, just as an infant is dependent upon its parents for necessities of life, so all humans are dependent upon Jehovah God. He truly is a loving provider. As the Bible says: “He himself gives to all persons life and breath and all things,” and “by him we have life and move and exist.”—Acts 17:25, 28.

We should, therefore, be appreciative and thankful. We should make known to God our gratitude for the food we eat, the air we breathe, the beautiful scenery that delights our eye, the melodious sounds that please our ear, and His many other blessings. Do you? Do you, for example, offer heartfelt thanks to Jehovah God for the food you eat? It was He that made it grow.

GENUINELY INTERESTED IN MAN

However, man needs more than just God’s material provisions. While it is true that these can sustain him for a while, it is unavoidable that the deteriorating effects of sin eventually catch up with him and he dies. Man, even with his great advances in medical science, is unable to do anything to prevent this. How evident it is, therefore, that man also is in dire need of Jehovah’s spiritual provisions! Has God made these available?

Yes, he has! Even though the original human pair rebelled against him and the majority of their offspring have chosen to ignore him, God has not left mankind without hope or guidance. Think of it! “God loved the world [of mankind] so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) How grateful we should be! Jehovah sent his beloved heavenly Son to earth as a ransom, thus opening the opportunity to all mankind to enjoy everlasting life in happiness in a new system of things.—Matt. 20:28.

Truly, what a wonderful God Jehovah is! He is, indeed, a loving Father who cares for man, not an uninterested bystander. He has not abandoned humankind, nor has he left them in ignorance concerning the present deplorable conditions. No, but God has made clear why humans die, how death will be eliminated, and why wickedness and human suffering have been tolerated for so long. All of this information he has made available in His Word the Bible.

This means that we have a responsibility toward the true God Jehovah. If we desire his blessing and eternal life we must avail ourselves of his provision to learn about Him. It is a life-or-death matter. Jesus Christ explained: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) How vital it is, therefore, to set aside time for regular Bible study! Do not put it off. Jehovah’s witnesses will be happy to assist you to obtain this valuable knowledge concerning God and his purposes. Remember, it means your very life.

‘No Christians in Prisons’

✔ Early Christians led exemplary lives. So much so that Minucius Felix, at the beginning of the third century, could reply to a pagan: “If we Christians be compared with you . . . we shall be found much better than you. For you forbid, yet commit, adulteries; we are known as men only for our own wives: you punish crimes when committed; with us, even to think of crimes is to sin: you are afraid of those who are aware of what you do; we are even afraid of our own conscience alone, without which we cannot exist; finally, from your numbers the prison boils over; but there is no Christian there, unless he is accused on account of his religion.”—The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, p. 195, The Octavius, chap. 35.

Is There Life After Death?

PEOPLE normally desire to believe that there is life beyond death. For without life there is no consciousness, hence no enjoyment of any kind.

Nevertheless, an increasing number of persons who claim to be realists maintain that death ends all. There is no basis, they say, for believing that there is life after death.

But the majority of persons today have no strong convictions on the subject. They may feel that death does not end human existence, yet they are not certain about this. At the same time, they are curious and wonder about the matter. Perhaps this is how you feel.

WHY PEOPLE DESIRE TO KNOW

Such interest is only natural, for death eventually affects everyone on earth. As one grows older and the human organism begins to deteriorate, one is conscious of death’s approach. Even the young are impressed by its apparent inevitability. As the Bible says: “The living are conscious that they will die.”—Eccl. 9:5.

So it is normal for you to wonder what happens when you or your loved ones die. Does death actually end all? Or is there a firm basis for believing that there is life after death? Can the person who dies really live again?

THE TRADITIONAL CONCEPT

It has long been a common belief that humans possess an immortal, invisible soul that survives death of the physical body. The ancient Egyptians believed this. However, the ancient Greeks are credited with developing this traditional concept. Catholic priest Anthony Kosnik, writing in The Michigan Catholic of January 23, 1969, explains:

“They [the ancient Greeks] conceived man as consisting of two distinct parts—a material, mortal body and a spiritual, immortal soul. When united, these elements formed a living person. When separated, they produced the effect of death. At death, the body was known to decompose and the soul was thought to continue on in separate existence in another world.”

In the centuries following the death Of Christ, as church leaders became influenced by Greek thought, this view also was adopted by Christendom. Kosnik notes: “This philosophical explanation appealed to St. Thomas Aquinas (a prominent church father] who borrowed freely from these ancient philosophers.” Thus, it eventually became a dominant belief in Christendom that ‘the human soul does not perish with the body, but lives on to receive reward or condemnation.’ Perhaps this has been your belief too.

IS THERE A FIRM BASIS FOR BELIEVING?

Is there a firm basis for believing this concept of life after death? Is it a realistic belief that is in full harmony with the Bible? Interestingly, although the Catholic church holds to the traditional concept set out above, Catholic priest Kosnik goes on to admit:

“The biblical understanding of man is quite different [from the traditional concept]. In the Bible, man is never presented as a ‘body-soul’ combination. In both the Old and New Testament, man is always thought of as a single totality. . . . What is more—this body-soul totality was regarded as being essentially mortal. Man does not possess immortality—neither in the whole nor in part of his being . . . Death, therefore, is equivalent to extinction. There is no immortal soul to survive or continue on.”

Yes, in no place does the Bible teach that the soul is immortal. Rather, such a concept was adopted from non-Christian philosophers. Acknowledged a special commission of forty-three Protestant theologians appointed by the United Church of Canada: “The idea that man consists of two separable parts, soul and body, does not come from the Bible; it comes from the Greek philosophers.”—Life and Death—A Study of the Christian Hope by the Committee on Christian Faith of the United Church of Canada.

Also, though Presbyterians in general believe in the immortality of the human soul, a Presbyterian minister reported, according to The Age of Melbourne, Australia, December 8, 1967:

“In our theological training it was pointed out fairly clearly, and to me conclusively, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul was not one which is derived from the New Testament; that it was a concept which originated, it seems in Greek philosophy, particularly with Plato.”

The belief that man has a soul that lives on after death has no foundation in the Bible. God’s Word says: “The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.” “As for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” (Ezek. 18:4, 20; Eccl. 9:5) It is an unchristian myth that the soul survives the death of the body. It is not Bible truth.

A REAL BASIS FOR HOPE

Does this mean, then, that life cannot be restored? Is there no hope for those who have died? Are they eternally extinct?

Happily this is not the case, for the Creator of man is a God of love. (1 John 4:8) And it simply is not reasonable for such a loving God to create man with an intense desire for life, and then not provide a prospect for fulfilling that desire.

In order to dramatize the fact that human life can be restored, Jesus Christ actually raised persons from the dead while he was on earth. The man Lazarus, for example, had been dead for four days, so that his sister said: “Lord, by now he must smell.” Yet, Lazarus lived again. Through God’s power Jesus brought him back to life again.—John 11:17-44.

Later, while hanging upon the torture stake, Jesus told the repentant evildoer: “Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Jesus left no room for doubt. That man would live again. This promise of Jesus is in harmony with what he said earlier: “The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.”—John 5:28, 29.

So there is hope indeed for a return to life after death! However, life does not come through the release of a so-called “immortal soul.” Rather, it comes by means of a resurrection from the dead. This is the truth of the matter.

Now consider: Is God going to be pleased with persons who cling to untrue concepts that are in conflict with his Word the Bible? Is he pleased with those who openly acknowledge that church doctrines conflict with Bible teachings, but then choose to stay with the church? Would you yourself not rather enjoy associating with persons who really respect the Word of God? Your own life depends on doing so.

When You First Go to a Kingdom Hall

HAVE you considered attending one of the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses at their Kingdom Hall in your area?

No doubt you have noticed the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. And, though you may not be one of Jehovah’s witnesses yourself, you may have thought that you would like to visit to see what takes place at the meetings and what the inside of the building is like.

Or maybe you have been having a free home Bible study with a minister of Jehovah’s witnesses and he has kindly invited you to attend meetings at the Kingdom Hall. Appreciating how much you have learned from your weekly Bible study, and with his assurance that the meetings at the Kingdom Hall are very beneficial and enjoyable, you may be planning to accompany him. We are certain that you will be made to feel most welcome.

‘But,’ you may be thinking, ‘just what will it be like? I do not really know what to expect.’

Such thoughts are understandable. Often a newcomer at a church in Christendom is startled, if not shocked, at what goes on in church. Yet, when you attend your first meeting at the Kingdom Hall you will realize immediately that it is quite different from services in such churches. We believe that you will find the differences to be refreshing and spiritually upbuilding.

Let us describe a visit to a Kingdom Hall. This will probably answer many of the questions you have.

THE BUILDING ITSELF

That the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses at the Kingdom Hall differ from the religious services in the churches of Christendom may be suggested to you by the building itself. There is no required size or style for the Kingdom Halls. They vary from place to place depending on the number of persons attending, the facilities available locally and the financial circumstances of Jehovah’s witnesses in the area. This is as it was in the first century. In ancient Rome a Christian congregation met in the home of Prisca and Aquila. In Ephesus Christian meetings were held in a school auditorium.—Rom. 16:3, 5; Acts 19:9.

Similarly, today some congregations meet in private homes, or rent space in an office building or public hall. Others have built their own halls. These are usually rather modest when compared with the ornate churches and cathedrals that are designed to awe people. But Jesus showed that such elaborate structures are not necessary, for “God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) Accordingly, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses the people and the Biblical instruction provided are important, not the building itself.

When you enter the Kingdom Hall you will see further evidence of this emphasis on “worship with spirit and truth.” For example, there are no images or crosses on display. God’s Word says that true worship is not offered in connection with idols, not even of Jesus or so-called “saints.” Rather, we are told: “Guard yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) As to the cross, the Bible indicates that Jesus was put to death on a simple upright stake or crux simplex. (Acts 5:30; 10:39) There is no Biblical command or precedent to revere the instrument of Jesus’ death. Thus such religious appendages that are not in accord with Bible truth are not displayed at the Kingdom Hall, thus avoiding that which takes away from the worship “with spirit and truth.”

In this vein, you will also observe that there are no stained-glass windows, as in many churches, to help create a hushed aura of artificial sanctity. Instead, the spiritual atmosphere at the Kingdom Hall is genuine, springing from a real interest in true worship and Biblical instruction. And the light, natural surroundings in the hall encourage those present to be outgoing and friendly, not inhibited by a mysterious imposed solemnity.

A PLACE OF BIBLE LEARNING

Other aspects of the Kingdom Hall also illustrate that it is a place for Biblical instruction. For instance, you will observe that the entire congregation assembles together, with no segregation according to age. There is no room set aside for the children or for a “Sunday school.” Why is that?

From both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures it is plain that parents themselves have the primary responsibility to provide personal Scriptural instruction for their children. (Deut. 6:6, 7; Eph. 6:4) The father and mother are not to shirk that God-given assignment by turning their youngsters over to a “Sunday school teacher.” But what about meetings where deep spiritual matters are covered?

God told Israel that the Law, including its weighty parts, was to be read “in front of all Israel.” Jehovah said: “Congregate the people, the men and the women and the little ones . . . in order that they may listen and in order that they may learn.” (Deut. 31:11, 12) In this way the parents know what their children hear, and so can later assist them to understand the more difficult points. Unity develops when entire families sit together to consider God’s Word. And youngsters learn to be quiet and attentive, as well as to use the Bible in looking up texts cited during the meeting. Yes, the benefits are many.

Jesus was happy to have young children present when the Word of God was being discussed, and so are Jehovah’s witnesses today. (Matt. 19:13, 14) You will observe this at the Kingdom Hall.

MEETINGS ON SUNDAY

Usually each congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses has meetings at several different times during the week. Each one is distinctive, covering different material, but we will describe what you will experience if you attend the meetings held on the weekend, usually on Sunday. The time is selected so that these important meetings are convenient for the majority locally.

There is a public Bible talk given first. A chairman will introduce the subject and the speaker. Then, during the talk, which lasts almost an hour, those in the audience can follow along in their own Bibles as the speaker discusses from the Scriptures the announced subject. It may be the application of Bible principles to family life, or a doctrine such as the resurrection or God’s provision for paradise, or a verse-by-verse consideration of some chapters of the Bible.

Jesus gave public discourses similar to this, and “the crowds were astounded at his way of teaching.” (Matt. 5:1, 2; 7:28) The public speakers at the Kingdom Hall have studied Jesus’ manner of teaching, and we believe you will find the talks to be much more beneficial than the customary church sermons of Christendom. The speaker might use a blackboard or chart. Sometimes review questions are posed, and ones in the audience who want to volunteer and answer may do so.

After the discourse there will be an hour-long study of Biblical material in The Watchtower, which is studied with the Bible. This segment of the program will open with a song. Then one of the ministers will offer prayer. During the study the questions printed at the bottom of each page of the magazine being considered will be read. If you want to make a brief comment, you may. Of course, the one directing the study usually calls only on those who raise their hand to volunteer an answer, so no one is embarrassed. We find this manner of study to be most interesting and rewarding, and likely you will too.

At the close of the study another song is sung, just as Jesus concluded one of his meetings with song. (Matt. 26:30) We use the songbook “Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts.” (Eph. 5:19) If you do not have a copy, one of the Witnesses at the Kingdom Hall will happily share his with you. We all enjoy very much these heartwarming songs. In conclusion a final prayer of thanks to God is offered.

One thing you may have noted in this description is that no mention was made of the passing of a collection plate. Though the practice is common in Christendom, it is unscriptural and not followed by Jehovah’s witnesses. In regard to contributions, God’s Word says: “Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7) So at the Kingdom Hall there is a small, inconspicuous contribution box for those who would like to make a gift “in secret,” as Jesus mentioned.—Matt. 6:3, 4.

THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET

In all likelihood you are curious about the people you will meet at the Kingdom Hall. Those who come to the Kingdom Hall do so, not because it is the socially proper thing to do or to impress their friends, but because they want to learn God’s will from the Bible and to develop toward spiritual maturity as Christians. You can imagine how delightful it is to be among such people!

God’s Word stresses the importance of ‘gathering together, encouraging one another, and all the more so as we behold’ the end of this wicked system of things drawing near. (Heb. 10:25) Hence, when Jehovah’s witnesses meet together they seek to encourage one another spiritually. One way is by sharing in the program and making worthwhile comments during the meeting. But another way is by engaging in warm and upbuilding conversation before and after the meetings. You will experience this as various ones approach you and introduce themselves, genuinely pleased to welcome you to the Kingdom Hall.

Some you meet may be acquaintances from your neighborhood or persons who were brought up in the same church as you were. They once came to the Kingdom Hall for the first time too. Consequently they will understand just how you feel on your first visit, and they will be glad to answer any question you may have about the activity of Jehovah’s witnesses. Many persons were so pleased with what they saw and heard on their first visit to the Kingdom Hall that they have kept on coming regularly. We hope that you will do the same.

None of the Witnesses you meet will have a title such as “Rabbi,” “Father” or “Reverend.” Even though such are commonly used by religious leaders, the Bible pointedly says that true worshipers should not assume high-sounding religious titles. Jesus counseled: “Do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your teacher, whereas all you are brothers. Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One. . . . But the greatest one among you must be your minister.” (Matt. 23:8-12) In harmony with this, there is no clergy-laity distinction among Jehovah’s witnesses. All baptized Christians are spiritual brothers and sisters, just as Jesus indicated.

You may meet ministers who handle particular assignments in helping their fellow Christians. Such ones are referred to in the Bible as “overseers” and “servants” in the congregation. (1 Tim. 3:1, 8) How appropriate these terms are, for these men provide needed oversight and they truly serve their spiritual brothers and sisters! These “servants” will not be noticeable because of any special type of clothing, but probably you will see some of them helping others to obtain Bibles and other publications that are useful in aiding honest-hearted ones to learn Jehovah’s will. Or they may be making arrangements for various ones in the congregation to prepare talks for the meetings. Yes, the Kingdom Hall will be filled with active, happy persons, and we believe that you will enjoy being there.

There are, naturally, other things we could discuss, such as the other scheduled meetings and the research library at the Kingdom Hall. But we will let some of the friendly ministers at the meeting tell you about these things.

As you can appreciate from this brief description, the activities at the Kingdom Hall center on the Bible. We invite you to bring along your copy.

We believe that your visit to the Kingdom Hall will be a rewarding and memorable occasion. Accept our invitation to enjoy that experience soon.

Appreciating Jehovah’s Mercy and Loving-Kindness

As told by KLAUS JENSEN

HAS it ever occurred to you how patient and merciful the great God Jehovah has been with sinful humankind? how he has tolerated their ignoring of him and his will, while going their own selfish way? how even with individuals he offers opportunity after opportunity to come into peaceful relations with him, though they may treat it all quite lightly?—Ps. 145:8.

Looking back on my own experience, I recall returning to the city from my usual weekend trip to a small cottage in the woods north of Kristiania, Norway, my mind made up. Yes, I had decided to break from the whole pattern of life I was then living. It was the kind of life being led by most people with a fair income. Getting away from the scene of daily toil every weekend always seemed such a good idea—skiing and hiking in the wonderful woodlands of Nordmarken.

Some people make Nature their god, but I had always believed in a mighty, intelligent Creator of all. Being in the wild solitude could sometimes be truly awe-inspiring. Yet there was something empty about my life, perhaps the selfishness of it all, just looking after myself. Exactly what was missing, I did not know.

THE EARLY YEARS

That particular weekend I had been on my own. Perhaps I got to thinking of my boyhood spent in the old town of Tönsberg, on the west side of Kristianiafjord. To there we had moved from a small place called Saltnes Raade a few years after I was born in 1896, and there I got my schooling, both public and commercial. And, of course, I enjoyed gymnastics and sports when it was time for them.

Perhaps, too, I got to thinking about my God-fearing parents—folk who had always reverenced God’s Word, the Bible. We were a happy family, ten of us children, of whom I was number five. My father was engaged in the fishing business, and with such a family he always had to work hard to make ends meet. In summertime we children enjoyed vacationing with father aboard his fishing vessel, and he enjoyed having us along. Often he would kneel down and thank God for his blessings.

Looking back now, I can see that father wanted me to look forward to making my livelihood in some different line of work. The fishing business was too strenuous. So eventually I got into high school without paying any tuition, and at graduation started out in office work, particularly in the marine insurance business. For a short time, too, I gained experience in a shipowner’s office.

Sometime about 1908 my parents began to think even more seriously about the Bible’s message. In those days children might go with their parents to meetings, but it was not emphasized for young ones so much. Thus when my parents started attending the meetings of the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s witnesses were then known, we tagged along. As far as I can recall, the main topic of discussion was the “High Calling,” of those who hoped one day to reign with Christ in heaven. Yet we children passed up many opportunities really to consider God’s will for us. “Pilgrims” or traveling representatives of the Watch Tower Society used to come to our home often. In fact, just lately I received greetings from an eighty-two-year-old who lived at our place while witnessing in our town as a full-time, house-to-house minister. Such visits were always enjoyable, and one in particular I shall never forget, for one of those visitors made this remark relative to the interest in sports shared by my brother and myself: “I wish they were running for another prize.”—Phil. 3:13, 14.

During the latter part of 1917 I was called up for military service, something I considered it my duty to perform. Evidently my employer thought the same, for he paid me full wages during the nine months I served with the Coastal Defense. Three of us were assigned to night watch, living in a small hut on an island in Kristianiafjord.

On one occasion we had a narrow escape when a mine was washed up on the stony beach. Trying to steady it, I pulled out of position a certain cylinderlike part. One of my companions, an engineer, slapped it down again immediately. Later on, when the mine was dismantled, we learned that another slight movement could have detonated it and killed us all.

Back in those days we did not have a clear-cut understanding of the Bible’s teaching on neutrality. Once when mother asked me what I would do if the League of Nations asked me to go fight in some other part of the world, I told her that I would have to go. Not till later did I learn the significance of the Bible’s words: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces . . . Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand.” (Isa. 8:9, 10, AV) Yet there were those at that time who were refusing to render God’s things to Caesar, and suffering for it.

A MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Later on, having now moved in to Kristiania, I subscribed for The Golden Age, now known as Awake! That resulted in a visit of the Watch Tower Society’s representative, who already knew me from former visits to my parents’ home. Strange though, I still made no real forward move in response to Jehovah’s kindly beckoning. In fact, when special lecturer A. H. Macmillan was advertised to give the talk “Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” I persuaded a good friend of mine to go and hear it while I took off for the country.

That friend gave such an interesting report about the lecture that I made sure I got to the next special lecture that was advertised. This did impress me very much, but apart from wishing I could tell others about God’s mercy and kindness, and speaking casually to a few others in my circle of acquaintances about what I had learned, I did nothing. Would Jehovah continue to extend mercy?

Then came that weekend at Nordmarken. I decided to make some drastic changes in my life, still somewhat unclear as to what I must do in order to gain more satisfaction out of life.

THE BIG CHANGE

In 1923 I quit my job and laid my plans to sail for America. California was really my goal, but I learned that New York had more to offer in my line of business. My friends and even my parents thought it was all a joke. Others were sure I would be right back, claiming I could not stay away from Nordmarken and its wild woodlands. Finally the parting time arrived. Mother said, “Maybe you will get to Bethel,” meaning, of course, the Watch Tower Society’s Brooklyn headquarters. It was quite a trip: a week looking around London, and then across the Atlantic in the then fastest passenger ship, the Mauretania.

That was a big change. But a more important change came when I started to attend the meetings of Jehovah’s people regularly in Bloomfield, New Jersey. With knowledge came a deeper sense of responsibility. Then, in the early part of 1924 my Christian brothers in Bloomfield took me along on a trip to the Brooklyn Bethel home, on which occasion I was baptized. What an impression that visit made on me! So much so that, soon after, when I read in the Watch Tower magazine that there were work opportunities for single, unencumbered men dedicated to God, I was interested enough to inquire and eventually fill out an application. “How long are you willing to stay?” the form inquired. “As long as it is the Lord’s will,” was my reply. Surely Jehovah had been undeservedly kind to me in opening up this privilege!

A NEW LIFE

So, on May 12, 1924, I reported for work and have ever since lived at 124 Columbia Heights, with never a desire to move away. My first job was in the Circulation Department at 18 Concord Street, cutting address stencils, some of them for a four-page, second-class publication, The Broadcaster, that it was hoped would reach hundreds of thousands of persons through the mails. Later, this publication was discontinued, because so many failed to reach their destination. Witnesses everywhere were then called upon to put their efforts into distribution of The Golden Age, a magazine the circulation of which today is not merely in the hundreds of thousands, but in the millions. It is now known as Awake!

For one so used to sports and movement, it was difficult at first to adjust to this new occupation. However, a change came when I was asked to choose between the Platemaking Department and the Shipping Department. Since I knew a bit more about ships and cargoes, to the Shipping Department I went. Later on, when a Northern European Office of the Society was established in Copenhagen and the opportunity of a transfer was thereby indicated, it was decided that I stay on at Brooklyn.

In the Shipping Department, which embraces Receiving, Shipping, Import and Export activities, I have had the privilege of noting the expansion of the organization during more than forty-five years; from leased factory buildings in 1924 to Society-owned modern factory buildings on four city blocks in 1969; from a 19th-century residence building in 1924 to tall modern residential buildings on both sides of Columbia Heights today. Now in some 200 lands over 25,400 congregations are supplied Bibles and Bible-study aids. What a tremendous flow of Bible knowledge goes out from here!

Where once the major part of our shipments were in small mail packages, today large freight shipments go out to destinations around the whole earth. The Post Office even finds it advantageous to make daily pickups from our premises with huge trailers, instead of our delivering with our own trucks.

And think of the enormous quantities of literature that are distributed within a day or two at our large conventions! This has always fascinated me. At St. Louis in 1941, for example, more than 125,000 copies of the book Children were distributed along with almost half a million of the booklet “Comfort All That Mourn.” At the 1958 New York assembly there was a record distribution of new clothbound publications amounting to 670,000, besides hundreds of thousands of the booklet God’s Kingdom Rules—Is the World’s End Near?

One of the enjoyable privileges I had during the past years had to do with the Scandinavian Hour, a weekly program sponsored by a small group of Scandinavian publishers of the Kingdom. Lectures were given in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish, with interludes of fine music over the facilities of WBBR, the Society-owned radio station.

LIFE IN BETHEL

I have so far lived a single life, in harmony with the apostle Paul’s advice: “He also that gives his virginity in marriage does well, but he that does not give it in marriage will do better.” (1 Cor. 7:38) This has not been just so easy, but as Jesus himself advised when asked about the advisability of remaining single: “Let him that can make room for it make room for it.”—Matt. 19:12.

On the other hand, in Bethel I have been blessed by fine association of brothers and sisters, and among fellow Witnesses outside of Bethel I can count many other spiritual fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, even as Jesus promised. (Luke 18:29, 30) In fact, in some homes I have been privileged to come and go just like a member of the family. May Jehovah reward them all for their love and kindness to me down through the years.

During the past forty-five years and more I have seen many new ones come to join the Bethel family, and others move out for one reason or another. I was always saddened to see those with whom I had worked closely go from here, for I could recall pleasant memories of hard, long hours of work together in meeting some emergency situation. With many I have lost contact, but I do hope that, wherever they are, they are continuing in happy association with the publishers of the Kingdom.

Though I realize that “godly devotion” is far more beneficial than “bodily training,” I could still enjoy a few days of skiing when the temperature drops to 20° F. (1 Tim. 4:8) Though always keenly interested in sports, I never did excel in any of the competitive fields. I do recall, though, that shortly after I came to Bethel I found that another member of the Bethel family had been in the games with me in Kristiania in 1920. He had been a member of the American Olympic (Antwerp) track team, then visiting in Norway. And I recall that he won his race in Norway. In Bethel I gained much from his association on account of his manly, Christian qualities.

I have every reason to express grateful thanks to Jehovah for his patient forbearance, as he gently drew me by his Kingdom message; for his loving-kindness in overlooking the measure of indifference that must have been there; for his goodness in supplying all my needs whenever I did determine to cast all my burdens on him. In the early years of Bethel life it is true that there were not the variety and abundance of material things we have today, but we never went hungry. Still more important, we have never been without the rich spiritual food for the mind. And for the future—Jehovah’s rich rewards await us at the end of a faithful course. May we never fail to praise and thank him!

Comforting the Mourners at Funerals

WHAT impression does a funeral service conducted by Jehovah’s witnesses have upon those grieving family members who are of a different faith? Consider the following letter that the members of one family wrote to Jehovah’s witnesses in Ohio:

“In 1935 my father passed away, leaving my mother in the frustration and grief that only a widow can know. It was then that she turned to your organization, which, at that time, was very active on the radio, bringing your message to millions of people. We should have realized then what a wonderful group of people you are, but unfortunately we did not. You changed her life of dark despair to one of peace and contentment. She lived this life of serenity for over thirty years, enjoying every minute of it, until death overtook her last week.

“It was at this time that we learned our lesson of despair. As most of you know, when a person reaches eighty-four years of age, which was our mother’s age, most of their close friends and relatives have gone on before them. At least so we thought!

“This was brought to our attention by a story told us by a funeral director, the night before mother’s funeral. He related an incident not too long ago of a very rich and prominent man who came to our city and made it his home. He lived more or less in seclusion for several years in one of the large, exclusive downtown hotels, where he finally passed away. He requested in his will that he be buried in the city that he learned to love so well. Due to a severe snowstorm, there were no visitors the first day after his death. On the second day, a nephew finally arrived through the snow from Pittsburgh. He was the only one who made it. That night he and the funeral director maintained the long and lonely vigil. The following day this nephew was the only one to attend the rich man’s funeral.

“Although our situation was not that bad, we were a little apprehensive the night before mother was to be laid to rest. We wondered if there would be many or if anyone would even attend the services the next day.

“This feeling of apprehension remained with us the next morning until the minister of Jehovah’s witnesses arrived followed by groups of those wonderful people that make up the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses. The spirit and friendliness they brought with them is hard to describe. Serenity is the best word I can think of. As they filled the rooms and expressed their message of sympathy, the gloom was suddenly dispelled and the whole world seemed brighter. We could not help but think how much richer our mother was with all these wonderful friends than that prominent man with all his wealth that we had heard about the night before. One of our relatives who was present said, with much admiration, that she had never heard such an inspiring service.

“You people will probably never realize fully what you did for us with your gifts of beautiful flowers and the kindnesses of the gentlemen who offered their services as pallbearers as well as the warmth of your friendly presence. All this we will not soon forget and for this all we can give is our sincere thanks, and may God bless every one of you.”

Truly funerals present a fine opportunity to comfort mourners with God’s message of the hope of the resurrection and by the Christian love and conduct of his people.

Questions From Readers

● In view of Thomas’ statement in John 20:25, was Jesus impaled with a nail through each hand?—J. B., Taiwan (Republic of China).

After Jesus’ resurrection he appeared to some of the disciples, but the apostle Thomas was not present. When told what had occurred, Thomas responded: “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and stick my finger into the print of the nails and stick my hand into his side, I will certainly not believe.” (John 20:25) Since Thomas mentioned nails (plural), some have wondered whether a nail was hammered through each of Christ’s hands.

If we read just the Bible accounts of the actual impalement, we would know very little about how Jesus was impaled. The Gospel writers state only that he was impaled or fastened to the stake. They do not say in their accounts of the impaling how this was accomplished, whether by Christ’s being transfixed with the stake forced through part of the body, by being tied to the pole or by being nailed to it.—Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:25; Luke 23:33; John 19:18.

However, following Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas’ comment in John 20:25 indicates clearly that Jesus’ hands were nailed to the stake. But in what way? We do not know. The Bible does not say whether his hands were nailed one on top of the other with a single nail through them both, or side by side with a separate nail through each. If the latter was the case, Thomas’ remark could be understood as applying only to Jesus’ hands.

There is, though, another possibility that cannot be ruled out. Many scholars believe that a nail or nails pierced Jesus’ feet, fixing them to the post directly or to a small platform attached to the stake. Jesus himself may have referred to wounds in his hands and his feet on another occasion when he appeared to the disciples. So as to convince them that he really was the resurrected Jesus, he said: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.” (Luke 24:39) Thomas did not specifically mention Jesus’ feet. But his comment about “the print of the nails” may have included Christ’s hands and feet, though only the hands were named.

Often in the Watch Tower Society’s publications Jesus has been illustrated as being impaled with a single nail through his two hands and another nail piercing his two feet. This is only an artist’s conception, but it is quite possible that this is how Jesus was impaled.

While such technical matters are of some interest, the major thing to keep in mind about Jesus’ death is what it accomplished. One point is that it ended the obligation to keep the Mosaic law, for God took “it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.” (Col. 2:14) By his integrity to God even during the agony and death on the stake, Jesus proved that out of love humans can serve Jehovah faithfully no matter what temptations and pressures Satan brings. And Jesus’ death on the stake provided the ransom, the price to release believing mankind from bondage to sin and death.—1 Tim. 2:5, 6; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

Spiritual warfare! This is the warfare for true Christians: “The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things.” (2 Cor. 10:4) Among those strongly entrenched things against which Christians wage spiritual war are Babylonish teachings of false religion. Against these Babylonish ideas, Jehovah’s witnesses wield the “sword of the spirit,” the Word of God. Also helping in maintaining the assault on false religion are the publications of the Watch Tower Society. For example, Awake! magazine last April featured a special issue entitled “Are the Churches Nearing Their End?” Each issue of Awake!, in fact, helps Christians in their spiritual warfare. As they maintain the assault on false religion during October, Jehovah’s witnesses will offer a year’s subscription for the Awake! magazine, with three Bible-study-aid booklets, on a contribution of $1.

WHAT HAS GOD PROMISED?

Really to know God we must know what he has promised to do for us. And to have faith in those promises we must have absolute assurance that he will carry them out. The Bible contains such assurance, and the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” will help you to be convinced. Its twenty-two absorbing chapters give powerful assurance of the certainty of fulfillment of all God’s promises. It is hardbound, 416 pages, illustrated. Send only 50c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

October 26: The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years, ¶1-25. Page 612. Songs to Be Used: 114, 102.

November 2: The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years, ¶26-48. Page 619. Songs to Be Used: 43, 98.